A Son Is Born: Joseph's Story
Roger Thomas
Matthew 1:18-25
December 2, 2001
The Setting. This is Joseph's story. Little is known about the husband of Mary except for the brief account of the angel's visit to him in Nazareth some months before Jesus' birth. With the help of a little imagination, let's attempt to view the Christmas events from his perspective. The place: Joseph's shop in Nazareth. The time: three years or so after Jesus' birth. Joseph, Mary, and the babe born in a stable, now a toddler, have recently returned from Egypt where Joseph had taken his little family. Joseph has started up his carpenter's business once again. A foreign traveler has just walked in requesting repair work on a wagon. He comments on the cute little boy playing outside the shop.
The Customer. Shalom my friend! Yeah, that's my boy Yeshua. Handsomest boy in Nazareth! Welcome to my humble little shop. What can I do for you today? Let me see what you have here. I guess you do have a problem with that wagon tongue. You must have come over some mighty rough roads. I'll have to fashion a whole new piece if that's OK. I can get to it right away. As you can see, I don't have a lot of business today. My shops been closed down for nearly three years and I am just getting started again. But God is good!
Let me see what I have. Good wood has been hard to come by around here since I came back. Apparently the Romans have confiscated all the good lumber for the Tiberias project. I have some cypress and a fair amount of Lebanese cedar. Do you think that will work OK? It's not the best for what you need, but I think it should get you home.
By the way, where're you from? I assumed you're part of a caravan. I can't believe how much the traffic picked up in the short time I was gone. One thing good I can say about the Romans, they have sure improved the road south along the coast to Egypt. It's a lot better than it used to be.
You ever been to Naza ...
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